Sony Rolly Video

Video description: It's an MP3 player. No wait...it's a speaker. Or maybe it's a robotic dancing egg. Actually, the Sony Rolly is all of those things. But mostly, it's just a pricey musical toy for gadget heads who have everything--including some cash to burn.

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Crave: Do you Crave the iPhone 3G?

It's all the goodies from the Crave blog. Natali Del Conte joins Brian Tong to talk about what they still Crave with the iPhone 3G, Sony's Rolly dancing MP3 player, a BMW concept car made of fabric, and a robot you can make out with!

Insignia NS-BRDVD

The Insignia NS-BRDVD is competent as a relatively cheap, barebones Blu-ray player, but better players are coming, and the Sony PlayStation 3 is a superior option for those with just a little more cash.

"How to Dance Like a White Guy" infomercial

Are you tired of dancing with rhythm? We have just the thing for you. Learn to do the Cracker Squirm!

Hezekiah: "Soul Music"

Head-nod with finesse? Or is that rock with finesse? Philadelphia-based artist, Hezekiah intends on redefining the boundaries of hip-hop with his debut long player, Hurry Up and Wait on Soulspazm Records. Scheduled for release in the beginning of 2005, Hurry up and Wait is a multi-layered soundscape of rich yet breathable melodies, powerful wordplay and punctuating percussion. While the album will have its fair share of notable guests (including Bahamadia, Grand Agent, Santi White (Stiffed), and Scratch (Legendary Roots Crew) the bulk of the album is intended to give its author's namesake the long overdue shine Hezekiah has been after for some time. Raised just south of Philadelphia in Delaware, Hezekiah grew up in the home of his mother and father where the sounds of Otis Redding, Bo Diddley and countless other blues records were in constant rotation on the hi-fi. Young and impressionable, Hezekiah soaked up the sounds of his musically trained family, and began to develop a love for music and eventually a sound of his own. But where Hezekiah would differ from the musicians in his family, would be in the adoption of digitally-based samplers, sequencers and synthesizers; the proverbial stew of hip-hop music. Hezekiah worked up the ranks within the Philadelphia underground hip-hop scene through his perseverance and talent as an emcee. Recognized for his exceptional live stage performances, Hezekiah continued to build his reputation as an influential artist working with many local independents. Indeed staying true to his diverse musical roots, Hezekiah was none too afraid to challenge as many genres of music he could, leading him to work with some of Philadelphia's most talented performers including R&B duet, the Jazzyfatnastees, Bahamadia, and Aaries. Most recently, Hezekiah received an invitation from Dawn Thompson (sister of Ahmir Thompson of The Roots), to co-produce the score for an episode of the Showtime Network's original series Street Time. Hezekiah continues to broaden his musical scope, dabbling in all aspects of art and business including emceeing, producing, singing as well as organizing the live hip-hop producer's roundtable, Beat Society. As a venerable do-it-yourself mastermind, it's no surprise that his new album carries the title, Hurry up and Wait; a reference Hezekiah says any independent artist can relate to, as the trials of making things happen on your own terms (without a major label) tend to wear on the creative mind. But be that as it may, Hezekiah accepts the challenge, and looks forward to the release of his first full length album. As a means to endure the long stretch to the finish, Hez continues to enjoy the ride of his own funky drum line, on a road that is none too short of adventures in synthesized harmony.

The week in a minute: 1/6/06

A compilation of some of the past week's best videos, brought to you by the Download.com Video team. This week brings vintage Pac-Man, an irate supermodel, and dancing robots.

1.) Soul Train

2.) Pac-Man Puppet Show

3.) Dancing Robots

4.) Robotech-An Overview: Robotech 101

5.) New gadgets and gizmos

6.) Flying Fish of Rio Guapore

7.) Mayumi Kaneyuki and Carlos Campos: "Bossa Nova No Cafe"

8.) Appalachian Hot Hot Hot

9.) Tyra Banks freaks out on "America's Next Top Model"

10.) Ninja for Hire

11.) George Bush Drunk?

12.) Shape your pizza thick or thin

13.) Chris Rock: How Not to Get Beat Up by the Police

14.) Spanish Madonna Drag Queen

Click here for the Week in a Minute archive.

"Why Dance?" trailer

"Why Dance?" is an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the world of dance. It examines what attracts so many to this wondrous art form, including young students, former ballerina?s, and current dancers. It explores why they dance and what drives them from their early introduction to the neighborhood dance studio to the stages of Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, a professional dance company in San Jose, California. The full-length documentary discusses the benefits of dance competitions, including substantial footage of one of many competitions and conventions held in many cities throughout the country every year. It includes interviews with various winners including Peter Chursin (Mr. Dance of America 2003) and Ashley Canterna (Miss Dance of America 2002). The rigorous training, stretching, and rehearsing is also shown, as many of these young people put everything they have into trying to impress the judges during a 2-minute dance routine. Parents discuss the benefits of both dance and competing with respect to the positive influence it has had on their children?s scholastic achievement and self confidence. Not only do ballerina?s (including former dancers with American Ballet Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem) share their early experiences growing up in the world of dance, but we get insight from such notables as Dennis Nahat(world renown choreographer/ Artistic Director), Karen "KB" Brown (Artistic Director of the Oakland Ballet), and Daryl Gray(choreographer). Other contributors to the film include photographers Roger Ele, Hubert Worley, Christopher Jean-Richard, and world renown Martha Swope. It examines the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi which is held every four years where dancers from all over the world attend and compete for "The Gold". Dance as a career is discussed in numerous conversations with current professional dancers and former dancers with such notable dance companies as American Ballet Theatre, The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and the Stuttgart Ballet. Advice is given freely and quite candid in format. The darker side of dance is also explored including injuries, eating disorders, and insecurities, issues that all dancers will face sooner or later. This film goes behind the scenes of a professional dance company?s production of "The Pirates of Penzance", a ballet staged by Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley in San Jose, California. Behind the scenes footage includes actual choreography being set in the rehearsal hall as well as footage of the actual performance and extensive discussion by the choreographer, Daryl Gray. Included is a heart-warming "Billy Elliott" type story of a young boy who not only overcomes the objections of his father, but turns him into one of his biggest supporters at the same time. This film is not only an informative look at the world of dance, but often times an entertaining look as well.

Nokia Bluetooth Speakers MD-7W

If you have the phone and the cash, the Nokia Bluetooth Speakers MD-7W make an ideal accessory to maximize your music handset.

Tom Waits: "God's Away on Business"

"Real Gone" is the unpredictable follow-up to the atmospheric and conceptual "Alice "and "Blood Money," two albums that TOM WAITS released simultaneously in the spring of 2002.

In an exciting departure from the critically acclaimed Alice and Blood Money, Waits? fevered imagination has spawned a new musical hybrid, grafting together worlds both sonic and ethnic from musical traditions both old and new. The 15 track CD features: primal blues, Jamaican rock-steady grooves, rhythms and melodies both African and Latin, what Waits calls ?cubist funk.?

In that sonic cubism, Waits ingeniously finds common ground with hip hop?s cut and paste aesthetic and incorporates some of its elements into his approach. Many of the tracks on Real Gone were built on Waits? ?human beatboxing? on a cassette recorder in his bathroom and bringing those tapes into the studio to have the band play over them. As a result, there are no drums on many of the most driving tracks as his voice provides all of the necessary propulsions. And for the first time, there is no piano.

Sony HT-CT500 Sound Bar Home Theater System

Sony's single-speaker surround-sound home theater system is sleek, relatively inexpensive, and actually sounds pretty good.

Monitor Audio i-Deck

Though it's fairly pricey, the Monitor Audio i-Deck is one of the best-sounding and most attractive stereo speaker systems for the iPod.